Balling gun



INVEN URS V .D. "421. L/fl/l/rz/lnr I J M ATTORNEYS Q :mw aimmk m V 4 Sept. 1 1953 J. D. WElL ETAL mums GUN Filed Aug. 22,

Patented Sept. 1, 1953 BALLING GUN J ay D. Well, Lexington, and William Lee Nutter, Jr., Georgetown, Ky.

Application August 22, 1951, Serial No. 243,102

11 Claims.

Our invention relates to the provision of an improved novel balling gun.

The use of balling guns to administer capsules to large farm animals is well-known. The instruments of this type which are known to us, however, have certain disadvantages, chief of which is the fact that the cocking of the gun and the insertion of a capsule thereinto must be accomplished in two separate steps, usually necessitating the use of both the operators hands in manipulating the instrument. Also, the various mechanisms known to us and presently employed with balling guns for effecting discharge of the capsule from the gun are unduly complicated and too often faulty in operation.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of our invention to provide a self-cocking balling gun, by

which we mean a balling gun that will automatically cock upon insertion of the capsule into the gun.

It is a further object of our invention to provide improved mechanism for effecting release of the capsule from the gun.

It is also an object of our invention to provide an improved balling gun which is extremely simple to use and which can be manufactured economically.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a sturdy gun which will stand up under heavy use in connection with the administration of fairly large capsules to livestock. Such a gun will have a minimum of moving parts and those that must move will be subject to a minimum of wear and designed for long use.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art during the course of the following description and from reference to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the balling gun of our invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the catch-release mechanism employed in our balling gun.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the forward end of our balling gun showing the various parts immediately after the capsule has been discharged and before the operator has removed his thumb from the release button.

Figure 5 is a sectional view of the forward end of our gun showing a modification of the capsuleretaining means and the manner in which same is fastened to the gun barrel.

In the drawings, we have shown our balling gun as being comprised of a handle II], a barrel II, and a capsule housing I2. The barrel II is bent downwardly slightly as generally indicated at I3. The purpose of so constructing the barrel will become apparent when the self-cocking mechanism is described.

In the modification of Figures 1 through 4, the capsule-receiving head or housing [2 is screwed onto the end of the barrel as indicated at M, see especially Figure 2. To this end the extreme end of the barrel I l is provided with exterior threads which engage with mating threads provided within the end l5 of the housing l2.

The capsule-engaging plunger I6 is provided with an enlarged, cup-shaped member H. The other end of the plunger 16 terminates in an enlarged head l8 which is designed to just nicely slide within the barrel II. A split ring or the like I9 is placed in the end of the barrel II to check forward movement of the plunger [6. In addition, it is preferred that a small rubber or plastic ring or other cushioning member 20 be placed around the plunger I 6 and against the head. l8 to assist in bringing the plunger to a shockless stop. A rod 22 is seated within a bore provided in the head I8 and pinned thereto as at 2|. This rod has a turned down portion 23 which terminates in an enlarged cone-shaped head 24. The detail of this is best seen in Figure 3. The base of the cone-shaped head 24 faces the rod 22. Referring again to Figure 2, it will be noted that a spring 25 surrounds the rod 22 and abuts the head 18 of the plunger I6. A suitable abutment for the other end of this spring is provided within the barrel ll of the gun. We have shown this abutment as comprising a pair of short pins 26. It is to be understood, however, that other means may be provided, for example, it might be desired simply to crimp the barrel at this point.

Within the barrel ll there is also provided a tube or elongated member 21 which is pinned to the barrel for pivotal movement as indicated at 28. The forward end of this tube, see especially Figure 3, is provided with a cut-away portion or niche as shown at 29. Also, it is preferred that the forward end of this tube be bent slightly downwardly in the vicinity of this cut-away portion. It will be noted that the forward end of this tube extends past the point 13 at which the barrel itself is bent downwardly.

The handle Ill of our balling gun is designed to be screwed onto the rear end of the barrel H a indicated at 30. The barrel may be pressed on as an alternative construction. A set screw 3! is also provided to insure exact positioning of the handle H) with respect to the barrel II. It will be noted that the handle I!) is hollow. Into the interior of the handle Hi extends the rear portion of the tube or elongated member 21. Fixed in this end of the tube by any suitable means is a plug 32. A release button 33 is provided with a stem 34 which is screwed into the plug 32. The stem is of sufficient length to extend through the plug 32. The handle of the gun is provided with an opening 35 through which the release button 33 projects. Within the handie of the gun it a suitable seat 35 is provided for a spring 31 which abuts the plug 32 about the stem 34 of the button 33.

The spring 3'! acting against the plug 32 tends to move the tube or elongated member 21 counterclockwise about its pivot 28 so that the forward end of the tube 2'1 is urged towards the bottom of the downwardly bent portion of the gun barrel. When a capsule 38 is placed within the housing i2, within which it i maintained under slight pressure by reason of the resilient spring and pushed against the member H and plunger it, the head ii! is caused to move against the spring 25 thereby compressing the same. As the head if; is so moved, the rod 22 and enlarged, cone-shaped head 24 move towards the forward end of the tube 2?. As so moved, thepoint ii of the head 24 will be substantially, centrally of the gun barrel M. This point will enter within the end All of the tube 27, but because this tube is urged towards the bottom of the gun barrel by the spring 37 just described, the sides of the cone-shaped member 24 will strike the interior wall of the tube 277 at the end 40 with the result that continued movement of the rod 22 will cause the tube 2? to be urged about its pivot 253 in a clockwise direction against the spring 37. Vhen, however, the rod 22 has moved far enough so that the head 24 will clear the front edge 42 of the cut-away portion or niche 29, the spring will urge the tube 2'! to snap towards its normal. position, with the result that the member 24 will catch within the aperture 29 against the wall 52. At this point, the gun is cooked and the spring 25 is under compression. Also, the capsule 35 is lodged within the housing I2. The spring 39- is so curved as to cut down the interior diameter of the housing (from high point on spring to opposite housing wall) to an extent that such interior diameter is slightly less than the exterior diameter of the capsule. The spring, be-

fiexible, will flatten out when the capsule is forced into the housing. The pressure exerted against the capsule by the so distorted spring serves to hold same in the capsule against the opposite wall.

In order to cause the capsule to be discharged from the gun, it is necessary only for the operator to press the button 33 and move the plug 32 and tube 2'! against the action of spring 31. Such depression of the button 33 causes the tube to retate in clockwise fashion about its pivot 28 with the result that the forward end of the tube will move out of engagement with the cone-shaped head M. When this happens, the result will be that the spring 25 acting between the pins 26 and head It will force the plunger [6 towards the forward end of the barrel I I, the capsule thus being ischarged. (The force exerted by compressed spring 25 is greater than that exerted by distorted spring 355.) This action is best seen in Figure 4. With respect to Figure 4, it should be noted that the parts are depicted in their position as would occur immediately after the button 33 were depressed and before the operator moved his thumb therefrom. This accounts for the upward position of the forward end of the tube 22'.

When the operator releases the button 33, the spring 31 will again force this forward end of the tube or elongated member 21 to the lower portion of the barrel Ii. The spring 25 forces the head [8 to its lower position wherein it seats through cushion 20 against the retaining ring 19.

In Figure 5, we have shown a modification of our invention. In this modification, it will be noted that we have provided the capsule housing [2, with a projection 43 extending from the rear portion i5 thereof. In this modification, the exterior of the projection 33 is suitably threaded so as to be engageable within the end of the barrel ll. By this construction, the split ring I9 is made unnecessary for the reason that the head it will seat through the cushion 20', against the end of the projection :33. In either modification of our invention, it is a feature thereof that the housing I: may be readily changed to accommodate dilierent sized capsules and the like. Thus, the balling gun or" our invention may be used for administering a great many types of medicines to livestock without there being any changes necessary to the actuating mechanism itself; as above indicated, only the capsule housing need be changed.

In operation, a capsule 38 will be pushed into the housing 52 against the member I! on the plunger l3. Initially the parts will be as shown in Figure 4 with the exception that the forward end it of the tube or elongated member 21 will be adjacent the lower part of the barrel H for the reason that the operator will not at that time be depressing the button 33. As the capsule is further inserted into the housing I2, the head 18 is forced against the spring 25 until the coneshapcd head 24 engages within the aperture 29 against the wall 42 as above described. Thus, it should be observed that the very act of placing the capsule within the housing i2 serves to cook the gun and ready it for immediate'use. When it is desired to discharge the capsule into the animals mouth or throat, the operator, after placing the gun in proper position with respect to said mouth or throat, merely depresses the button 33 against the spring 3?! so as to rock the tube 21 about its pivot 28 and move the forward end thereof out of engagement with the cone-shaped member 2 3. Upon release of the member 24 from the aperture 29 the spring 25 forces the head and plunger it forwardly, thus discharging the capsule from the housing l2.

It is to be understood that although we have shown our invention as embodied in particular structures, we do not intend to belimited by such structures except insofar as they are specifn cally set forth in the subjoined claims. It is to be further understood that modifications may be made to our invention without departing from the scope and spirit thereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A balling gun comprising a barrel, a capsule housing fixed to one end of said barrel, a handle fixed to the other end of said barrel, a plunger slidable within said barrel, a member pivoted in said barrel, means urging said plunger into said housing, means urging said pivoted member to a normal position, means connected to said plunger and latching said plunger when moved against said plunger urging means with said pivoted member when said pivoted member is in its normal position, and means in said handle to move said pivoted member from its normal position whereby to release said plunger and connected means from latched engagement with said pivoted member, said plunger on release moving into said housing under the action of said plunger urging means whereby to discharge a capsule from said housing.

2. A balling gun comprising a handle, a barrel fixed to said handle, a capsule housing fixed to said barrel, a plunger extending from said housing into said barrel, an enlongated member within said barrel and pivoted thereto, resilient means normally forcing said plunger into said housing, resilient means normally forcing said elongated member about its pivot in a certain direction, means latching said plunger to said elongated member when a capsule is placed in said housing and said plunger thereby forced into said barrel against said first mentioned resilient means, and means in said handle to rock said elongated member about its pivot in the direction opposite said certain direction, whereby said means latching said plunger to said tube is released and said capsule discharged from said gun by the action of said first mentioned resilient means against said plunger.

3. The balling gun of claim 1 including means in said housing of sufficient strength to main tain a said capsule therein against the action of gravity.

4. The balling gun of claim 1 in which said capsule housing is detachably fixed to said barrel whereby different sized housings and capsules may be employed with the same barrel.

5. The balling gun of claim 1 in which said housing has an extension adapted to be screwed into the end of said barrel, said plunger having an enlarged member slidable within said barrel, said plunger sliding within said extension, and cushioning means between said enlarged member and said extension.

6. The balling of gun of claim 1 in which said housing is screwed onto the end of said barrel, abutment means located in the end of said barrel, said plunger extending through said abutment means, said plunger having an enlarged member slidable within said barrel, and cushioning means between said enlarged member and said abutment means.

7. The balling gun of claim 1 which the means latching said plunger to said elongated member comprises a rod fixed to said plunger, said rod having an enlarged head, and said elongated member having an aperture of sufiicient size to receive said head.

8. The balling gun of claim 7 in which said barrel is bent slightly, said elongated member having an end terminating just past the bend of said barrel, the said end of said elongated member also bein bent slightly.

9. The balling gun of claim 7 in which elongated member comprises a tube and in which said head is cone-shaped, said head being of such size that the point thereof will enter said tube when said tube is in its normal position, continued movement of said rod towards said tube resulting in the sloping sides of said cone-shaped head striking the wall of said tube and raising same about its pivot in a direction opposite said certain direction until said cone-shaped head is moved far enough to be received by said aperture whereupon said head engages the tube portion bound ing said aperture, said second mentioned res ient means acting to keep said cone-shaped head and aperture bounding tube portion in engagement.

10. The balling gun of claim 9 in which the means for rocking said tube about its pivot in a direction opposite said certain direction whereby to release said cone-shaped head from said aperture bounding tube portion and thus cause a said capsule to be discharged by action of said first mentioned spring against said plunger comprises a button connected to the end of said tube opposite said aperture, said button extending through an aperture in said handle, said second mentioned resilient means seating in said handle and surrounding a prolongation of said button.

11. The balling gun of claim 10 in which said plunger terminates in an enlarged member slidable within said barrel, said rod being pinned to said enlarged member, and abutment means in said barrel, said first mentioned resilient means comprising a spring surrounding said rod and engaging said enlarged member and said abutment means.

JAY D. W'EIL. WILLIAM LEE NUT'I'ER, JR.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 453,508 Ruby June 2, 1891 977,004 Grimm Nov. 29, 1910 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 6,047 Great Britain of 1897 21,096 Germany June 23, 1882 

